Stolen
by iIrrational
Summary: Ichigo prefers to be alone, but when he meets Orihime, everything seems to change. AU, some OOC, IchiHime. MORE INFO INSIDE.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I shouldn't be writing another story since I didn't finish More Than Alive yet, but this idea came into my head and I just _HAD_ to write it. Hahahah.**

**Pairing:** Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue

**Summary: **Ichigo prefers to be alone. But when he meets Orihime, everything changes. Inspired by the song _"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional_, I've added my own twists so watch out! :D

**Rating**: T (It _MIGHT_ change in the future 'cause I'm thinking about adding some lemon, not so sure yet though.)

**Updates:** I will update irregularly, when I feel like it and all.

Here we goooo!

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_I always thought that my life was hell. I hated everything about it and I didn't think that I could do anything to change it._

_Honestly, if I could go back in time and make myself change everything than it is today, I would do it._

_But, if I did, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet you._

_You were the light in the dark world that I lived in._

_You changed me._

_And I'm very glad you came into my life._

_I just wish…that I didn't screw up all the time when you were still around._

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Ichigo Kurosaki was known to be a solitary person. Everyone would always gawk at him either because of the bright orange hair he had or the scowl he would always wear; they all knew not to mess with him and he was rumored to be part of a gangster group.

No, he wasn't part of any group. He was always alone, by himself. That's because he preferred to be alone rather than having to deal with anyone else annoying him. He hated people that were chatterboxes and what not. The only people he truly cared about were his family. Anyone who would harm his younger sisters Karin and Yuzu would have to meet his fist and a good kick in the ass to next week, that's how much he cared for them. He showed no concern about his bothersome father since he knows he can take good care of himself with all the good head butts Ichigo always receives from him every morning.

As for his mother, she passed away just when he was 7 years old due to illness. He cared about his mother deeply and she would always seem to make him smile no matter how bad the situation is. She was like the sun of the family, always having that warm feeling when you're around her. Masaki Kurosaki was a good woman; she was the type of person who would never hurt anyone unless she needed to. Ever since she passed away, Ichigo seemed to turn into the person he is today. Always scowling and not caring about anyone else but his family. That's what it seemed to matter to him anyways.

But everything changed when he met her.

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Orihime Inoue was an average girl with long auburn hair that reached down all the way to her lower back, she had bangs that framed perfectly around her face and everyone seemed to love her because of her bubbly personality. Perverts only liked her because of her oh-so-huge bossoms and her very nice bottom, but Orihime ignored every single one of them.

Ever since she was a baby, her brother Sora took her away from their abusive parents. He always knew Orihime could never a great life if he hadn't taken her out. Sora raised her but died in a tragic car accident. She had been adopted during middle school by Rangiku Ichimaru along with her husband Gin. To their surprise, everyone could always agree that she resembled a young Rangiku since they look so much alike.

A life with a new family was the best thing that ever happened ever since her brother died. But apparently, that wasn't the last death she would have to hear about. One summer, while Orihime was away for camping, she received a phone call from Rangiku that Gin died in a plane crash while he was on his way to another country for a business trip.

Orihime was devastated. She had lost another loved one in an accident. She always felt really upset hearing Rangiku cry every night about Gin's death. She hated how she couldn't do anything to change the past, she hated how everyone would be sad and she couldn't do anything about it.

As she grew older, she learned that life doesn't always offer you good things. Ever since that day, she had never wanted to let anyone's life slip away from her ever again. She vowed herself to protect the people that she loved no matter what.

Now that she's a senior in high school, she always kept in mind about what she vowed to herself. No more screw ups and hopefully no more deaths, she's had enough of those. But remember to always smile no matter how hard times get.

_Riiiiinnnggg!_

"Hurry up Orihime! We're gonna be late for class!"

"Ah!" Orihime hurried to remove her outdoor shoes to her school shoes as quickly as she could and stuffed them inside her locker. "You can go ahead, Tatsuki, I'll just see you in class!"

"Eh! I'll wait for you, just hurry up," Tatsuki insisted. With that, Orihime rushed herself as fast as she could and made her way with Tatsuki to class.

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"Ichi-nii, are you done yet? You'll be late for school!" Yuzu called from downstairs.

Today was the first day of senior year and Ichigo was late. Well, everyday he was always late for school since the beginning of everything, so it didn't really matter to him.

He sighed to himself as he put on his school's blazer without even closing it. He did not care about how he wore his uniform, what mattered most was that it was complete, right?

As he walked downstairs, he greeted his two sisters a good morning. "What about me, Ichigo?!" his father, Isshin wailed. "Don't you care about your own father?"

"No," Ichigo replied bluntly without looking at him.

Isshin gasped and turned to a portrait of his late wife Masaki which was hanging on the wall. "Masakiiiiiii! Ichigo has turned into a cold person! I did not raise him to be like this!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and quickly ate his breakfast that Yuzu prepared. Ever since their mother passed away, Yuzu had taken over Masaki's duties with cooking and cleaning. As soon as he finished, he grabbed his bag and said his goodbyes to his family.

"Good luck on your first day, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called out just right before Ichigo left.

Isshin, who was still sobbing near Masaki's poster, "Oh Masaki, you would be so proud of our son. Today is the day he will become a man!"

"Dad, you really need to take that poster of mom down, it's really embarrassing," Karin commented.

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"Alright, everyone take your seats," the teacher, Ms. Hiroshima said. "I'll be taking your roll call."

Orihime was glad that she wasn't late for her homeroom. If she was, she would have to do community service around the school as a punishment for being late. Of course, she didn't want that.

The seat that she was assigned to for the school year was located next to the windows that had a great view of the school's soccer field and her best friend Tatsuki was sitting just a few seats away in front of her.

_I can't believe today is the start of senior year, I'm so excited about what will happen for this year! I should join the baking club, the crafts club and—_

"Inoue Orihime?" Ms. Hiroshima called out.

Orihime quickly raised her hand, "P-present!" It seems that she was too caught up with her own thought to even remember that their homeroom teacher was giving the roll call. Typical Orihime.

"Kurosaki—"

The door slid wide open and all eyes were staring at the figure who was now making his way to his assigned seat.

"Ahh, Kurosaki-san. Glad to have you here today," Ms. Hiroshima said, Orihime could hear the sarcasm in her voice. "Being tardy on the first day of classes is bad luck for the rest of the year, you know."

Ichigo ignored her and sat in his seat which was located all the way in the back, in the same row as Orihime's with the window next to it.

_Kurosaki Ichigo…_ Orihime blushed to herself as she thought about him. _I can't believe we're in the same class again. All this time, ever since sophomore year, I never really had the guts to talk to him. He looked like he didn't want to be bothered because of the scowl he always had on his face… I should do something about it, but…I don't know if I can. I mean, everyone always says Kurosaki-kun is a bad person to be around with…still, I should at least say hi…since it's the last year and all, and who knows if I'll ever see him again after we graduate._

"Alright now, I assume you all have your schedules for your classes for the whole year," Ms. Hiroshima started out. "Now, this is your last year in high school, I know all of you are dying to get out of here,"

_Tell me about it… _Ichigo thought.

"But you'll never get to experience anything like this ever again, so you guys should take the chance to try something new, something that you have never done before. I'm not saying to do something crazy, I'm saying to do something to make your last year memorable. Do something that when you're older, you'll look back and say 'Oh, that was the best year' or 'That was the best year of my life'. You know what I mean?"

Some of the students nodded in agreement, and Orihime was one of them. In her mind, she thought Ms. Hiroshima was right. She should do things that would be memorable for her in the future. Orihime could already tell that this was going to be a great year.

After Ms. Hiroshima's inspirational talk, she moved on to daily cleaners and everything else that the students needed to know, including the rules around the school. As the bell rang for second period, everyone rushed out of their seats and made their way to their next classes.

"Kurosaki-san," Ms. Hiroshima called out right before Ichigo had the chance to walk out the door.

Ichigo let out a quiet sigh and approached his homeroom teacher. He has known Ms. Hiroshima for a long time. Back in his freshman year, she was the assistant guidance councilor of the school and Ichigo visited her constantly due to the fights he usually got in with other students.

"Yeah?" Ichigo looked at her with a dull expression. He hated how she would always call him and he would know what she would say. He felt like this was something about fighting other students and all that other crap she would always talk about with him. Nothing seemed to change about her. Her dark hair was always kept in a bun and her eyeglasses still remained how they were since the day Ichigo had his first meeting with her—thin and oval with dark frames. He did notice some wrinkles forming around her eyes, but he ignored to say anything about them since he would probably get a smack in the face.

"Please don't get into any fights this year, promise me?"

"I don't make promises, Ms. Hiroshima."

She sighed, "Well at least try to make some friends, so that people won't judge you for being lonely."

"I told you before Ms. Hiroshima, I don't need any—"

"Um, Ms. Hiroshima, I think I can help Kurosaki-kun with that,"

Ichigo turned around to see a girl with long auburn hair smiling at him. _Who the hell is this girl?_ Ichigo thought.

"Oh, hello Inoue," Ms. Hiroshima smiled at the girl, "Kurosaki, this is Inoue Orihime, you guys have been in the same class for a while now, right?"

_What? Same class? Since when? How come I haven't noticed her before? _Ichigo looked at the girl who was talking with Ms. Hiroshima. _Why would this girl want to be friends with me? She seems too…bubbly, maybe even annoying! No, I can't let her be friends with—_

"Kurosaki-kun, let's be friends from now on, okay?" she smiled.

Ichigo stared at the smile she was giving him. Something about that smile of hers made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside; a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time, the same feeling that his mother gave him whenever she was around. Was this a sign? Ichigo didn't know, nor did he want anything to do with this girl. But a part of him deep down inside told him that she was someone worth being around, someone that could fill in the emptiness that he thought no one else could fill.

_What the hell?_

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**So there's chapter one for you guys! I hope you all liked it. (:**

**Please review! xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed this story! I appreciate it. (:**

**I don't know how long this story will go but I'm hoping it'll just be under 10 chapters.**

**Anyways, here's chapter two~**

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Lunch hour did not take long to arrive for everyone. Time went by pretty fast for the first day of school.

Tatsuki Arisawa was now looking around for Orihime who suddenly went missing after she said that she will just use the bathroom. Tatsuki checked all of the restrooms of the school but she failed to find Orihime in any of them.

_Where did that girl run off to?_ Tatsuki thought.

Just then, one of her close friends approached her, "What's wrong Tatsuki?"

She turned around to see a petite girl with raven colored hair and large violet eyes. "Oh, hey Rukia," Tatsuki smiled. "I was just looking around for Orihime, she said she was going to the bathroom but she hasn't come back yet and it's been more than 10 minutes."

"Really now? I saw her going up to the school's rooftop just a while ago," Rukia told her.

_Rooftop? What could she be doing up there?_

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Orihime was leaning on the tall fence that surrounded the roof and watched the other students who were having their lunch below. She thought about what happened this morning and sighed to herself.

_I feel terrible, I didn't know things for Kurosaki-kun were like that…_

"_Uh, I appreciate the offer, Inoue, but I don't really need your help," he told her. Ichigo was going to be late for his next class, and he didn't want to deal with this, so he grabbed his bag and left the room as quickly as he could. He could care less about how that girl would feel._

"_He's a tough guy to get along with," Ms. Hiroshima finally spoke after the long awkward silence._

_Orihime looked at her, "Why is Kurosaki-kun like that Ms. Hiroshima?"_

_Ms. Hiroshima adjusted her glasses, "He's been like that ever since the day I met him. Back during his freshman year and being the assistant guidance councilor, seeing kids alone just saddens me, so I would always ask him to visit me because I wanted to know why he would always get into fights and why he was always alone."_

_Well, come to think of it, since the day I saw Kurosaki-kun, I never seen him with anyone…_

"_At first, he didn't tell me anything but after a few more visits, I found out that his mother passed away when he was young," Ms. Hiroshima said._

_Orihime felt like her heart dropped to her stomach. She never knew Ichigo lost his mother at such a young age. She could imagine all the pain he probably went through since she herself knew what it was like to lose someone you loved._

"_I guess his mother's death had a big impact on him as he grew older," Orihime said quietly._

"_It sure did, these kinds of things usually affect them when they get older, and he did tell me once before that he doesn't like troublesome people."_

"_Oh, I see…no wonder he rejected my offer so easily."_

"_Well, I'm sure that will change, Ichigo is a good guy, he may not seem like it though since he's always scowling. All he needs is someone to help him open his eyes and show him what he's missing," Ms. Hiroshima smiled._

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"There you are!" a female voice exclaimed.

Orihime turned around to see Tatsuki walking towards her and Rukia following.

"Tatsuki-chan, Rukia-chan, what's wrong?" Orihime asked surprised.

"'What's wrong?' I was waiting for you but you didn't come back!" Tatsuki complained.

"And what are you doing up here alone anyways?" Rukia asked as she looked around the deserted rooftop.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wanted to think about stuff and I thought this was the best place to think."

"Think about what Orihime?"

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Ichigo walked alone, as usual. He was glad that the first day went by fast. He never had the feeling of wanting to be home already, today was a first. His encounter with that Orihime girl from earlier made him dread to go to school the next day. They were in the same class and he would have to see her every day.

"I'm home," Ichigo called out as he took off his school shoes.

"Ah! Welcome home Ichi-nii!" Yuzu smiled. "How was the first day?"

"It was…alright, I guess," he sniffed the air. "Fish?"

Yuzu nodded, "I haven't made fish in a long time so…ah! It's almost done, too," she made her way back to the kitchen.

Fish was Ichigo's least favorite dish. He didn't like removing the small bones as he tried to eat. It was always such a hassle for him; you'd have to be careful if you don't want to be swallowing fish bone. He saw Karin, whose eyes were glued to the television as she watched her daily dose of anime.

When he arrived in his room, he got out of his uniform and changed into a loose shirt and a pair of sweats. He lazily dumped out the stuff from his bag onto his desk and searched for the homework that he needed to do. Math wasn't so bad but he had a hard time with the History homework, oh how he hated the history subject…

_Ding-dong_

Hmm, must be one of Yuzu's friends who—

"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called from downstairs. "Someone is here for you!"

_Huh? A visitor? For me? What the hell would someone want with me at this time of day?_

Although Ichigo didn't want to go downstairs, he forced himself to since it must have been Ms. Hiroshima or something, and if he didn't show up for her, she would probably annoy him for the rest of the week about how rude he was for not coming down to greet her.

As soon as he reached the bottom step, he saw a girl with auburn hair sitting next to Karin who was still watching television.

_What the hell is she doing here? _Ichigo thought.

"Ichigoooooooo! Who was at the door?" Isshin asked, but he stared at the girl who was now approaching Ichigo with a smile on her face.

"Ahe," Orihime scratched the back of her head. "Hey, Kurosaki-kun, sorry to bother you again."

"It's uh, not a problem but, what do you want?" Ichigo asked in a low voice, not a good time to arrive at his house since his whole family is here. They would probably bother him after she leaves.

Ichigo received a punch in the gut from his father, "Ichigo! That's not a nice way to talk to a lady!" Isshin scolded. Ichigo was already irritated with that Orihime girl showing up at his house and now he had to deal with his annoying father. He wanted to know how she found out where he lived but one person came in to his mind: Ms. Hiroshima.

Ichigo sighed,_ that woman…_

"What was it you wanted from my idiotic son, uh…pretty lady?" Isshin asked.

"Oh! My name is Orihime Inoue," she bowed quickly and smiled. "I was just here to invite Kurosaki-kun to a party this weekend at my place."

_A party?_

"A party, you say? I think Ichigo will like—" Isshin was saying but was interrupted by Ichigo. "I'll think about it," Ichigo told her.

"Oh, alright, well, if you want the directions to my house, it's just a couple of blocks away from here so…" Orihime was starting to feel the awkward aura that was rising in the room. Maybe it was a bad idea for her to come here? She could see it in Ichigo's face that he clearly didn't want to do anything with her but…some part of her wanted to go on and help him try to make friends. She wanted to help him no matter what. "I guess, I should go now," she headed for the door, "Thanks for your time and see you in school, Kurosaki-kun!"

And she was out the door.

_3…2…1…_

"My boy!" Isshin headlocked his son, "I didn't know you had it in you! I'm surprised that beautiful girl came to see you!"

"Let go of me!" Ichigo struggled to get free from his father's lock. Can this day get any worse for him? Come on!

"You know," Yuzu said as she prepared the table, "I think you should go to that party Ichi-nii."

Ichigo looked at his little sister—she resembled their mother so much, "Why do you think so?"

"Well, you're always stuck in the house and I think it's time for you to go out and have a social life," she told him.

"Yuzu's right son," Isshin finally released him. "Why don't you take the chance and try to meet new people? Stop being so alone all the time."

Ichigo looked at the both of them. Maybe it was time for a change…geez, that Orihime girl is just—

"I think you should go too, Ich-nee," Karin finally spoke. She looked at him with warm eyes despite her poker face expression. "I miss seeing you smiling; I think that girl is a good influence to you."

_You too, Karin?_ Ichigo thought to himself.

After a moment of silence, Ichigo spoke, "Alright, I'll go, for you guys. But if things don't turn out well for me, you guys will all just have to accept the fact that I just can't make friends like the way I used to." With that, his family smiled at him showing that they all agreed to him. Oh boy, this was going to be a tough week then, Ichigo could feel it.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Awww, Orihime! You like him!" Rukia wrapped her arms around Orihime._

"_E-eh? N-no I don't," Orihime retorted. "I just want to help Kurosaki-kun make some friends, that's all."_

_Rukia giggled and then released her, "That's even cuter. I think you guys would make a cute couple though."_

"_Rukia-chaaaaannn," Orihime whined._

"_Well, it would be nice to see that guy around with some people," Tatsuki mumbled._

_Rukia nodded, "Our little Orihime is taking this chance to prove herself to Kurosaki!"_

_Orihime sweatdropped, and turned her attention to Tatsuki instead, "Ne, Tatsuki-chan, what are you thinking about?"_

"_I was thinking about inviting him to Rangiku-san's party this weekend."_

"_E-eh?"_

"_Oh yeah! I remember her asking us to join," Rukia mentioned. "And she did say to invite all of our friends."_

"_What do you think Orihime?" Tatsuki asked._

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Ichigo walked down the hallway with a scowl on his face. Today just wasn't the day anyone should mess with him. His uniform was almost soaking wet from the rain and his homework was probably ruined as well since he used his bag as an umbrella.

He hated the rain so much.

It's not just because you get wet when you don't carry an umbrella, it's because it was the same weather when his mom died. He remembered everything; her lying in that hospital bed, smiling as if everything was okay when it wasn't. After she said her last words, it just started pouring, and it poured for days.

Ichigo sighed to himself. Now wasn't the time to think about such things. He needed to redo his homework all thanks to the stupid—

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" a cheerful voice greeted.

Oh great. Everything was already bad as it is and now he would have to deal with...her.

Ichigo slowly turned around to face the girl that had a smile on her face, "Morning."

Orihime's smile turned bigger but then she noticed his uniform, "Oh, Kurosaki-kun, your uniform is wet!"

_Tell me something I don't know_, Ichigo thought. "Yeah…I didn't know it was going to rain today, and I don't like carrying an umbrella around so…"

"I see…well," Orihime started looking through her bag and pulled out a blue umbrella, "You can use my umbrella; it's small so you don't have to carry it all the time."

Ichigo didn't know if he should take it or not. Geez, what was with this girl? Didn't she get the idea that he didn't want anything to do with her already? He doesn't need some stupid umbrella anyways.

But he disobeyed his thoughts and took the umbrella instead, "Uh, thanks…I'll return it to you."

Orihime put her hands in front of her and shook them, "No, it's alright, I have a spare one in my locker so you can keep it."

_Keep it?_ Come to think of it, no one actually gave him anything. Sure, he got presents and stuff for his birthday, but this…this was the first time he actually received something from someone other than his _family._

"Thanks…again," Ichigo mumbled.

Orihime smiled, "It's no big deal, ahe…"

_Riiiiinnnngggg!_

"Ah, we should get to class," said Orihime.

Ichigo nodded and followed her as she walked down the hallway to their homeroom. He'll have to find some time to work on his homework later. At least algebra wasn't the first subject, gotta thank the Kami for that, otherwise he'll be dead meat and will probably have to stay an extra hour after classes are over.

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"So, you guys are trying to get close with that Kurosaki, eh?" Renji asked.

"Well, it's just Orihime, but I don't mind being friends with that guy if Orihime ends up being successful," said Rukia as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"I see," Renji hugged the petite raven haired girl from behind. "But if he ever tries to get to you, just tell me and I'll beat his ass, okay?"

Rukia rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Like I'll ever fall for that guy. He's all Orihime's."

"Inoue actually likes the guy?" Renji raised an eyebrow.

"She didn't say that she did, but it's _SO_ obvious," Rukia told him and started to giggle.

The two were standing against the tall fence that surrounded the school's rooftop. This was always the place where Orihime and her friends would always eat lunch together and also the perfect place to take a nap—according to Renji and Sado.

"Oh, you guys are here already?" Tatsuki asked as she walked towards the couple who were just about to lip lock each other.

Renji's face was a little flushed and looked away trying to find something else to concentrate on. Rukia smiled as if nothing happened, "Yeah, our teacher wasn't around so we skipped our fourth period. Where's Orihime?"

"She's downstairs buying her lunch, I insisted on waiting for her but she told me to go up already," said Tatsuki who was now chowing down on her lunch.

"Well that's kind of weird for her to tell you to go on without her," Rukia scratched her chin and thought about the possibilities of Orihime wanting to be the last one to arrive. Maybe she wanted to buy something that she didn't want to share?

No, Orihime wasn't like that.

Maybe she wanted to buy something so weird and didn't want Tatsuki to make a comment about it?

No, that doesn't really make sense.

Just then, Orihime arrived. "Heeeeellllooooo~," the auburn haired beauty cheered.

Tatsuki and Rukia exchanged glances. Renji was the first one to speak, "Why are you so happy?"

Orihime pouted, "Ehhh, Abarai-kun, that's kind of a weird question!"

Renji's eyebrow twitched, "What's so weird about that?"

"Aren't I always happy?"

"Not this happy," Tatsuki said as she took the last bite of her sandwich. "Something oh-so-amazing must have happened to you."

Orihime's face turned red, "H-how can you guys be so sure about that?"

"We're your friends, Orihime," said Rukia. "And besides, you're so easy to read."

"Ehhhh~"

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_Ichigo placed his notebook and pencil in his bag. He was glad that he managed to redo his homework during one of his subjects since they weren't really learning anything important for English class. Subject-Verb agreement, he knew that stuff since last year. Fourth period was over and he was now walking the hallway on his way to the cafeteria. It was lunch time and for once, he was hungry and he was dying to eat anything even if it was the not-so-edible looking cafeteria food._

_Minding his own business, a few jerks who think they run the school decided to crowd up around him._

_Not getting into fights this year were Ms. Hiroshima's wishes, but how the hell was he supposed to prevent fights when people would just suddenly decide to pick on him?_

_Oh great…thought Ichigo._

"_You're Kurosaki Ichigo, right?" a guy with a blonde mohawk asked._

_Ichigo sighed._

"_Hey! Don't act like that around Masahiro!" the girl that was right behind the so-called Masahiro. What was this girl doing? She seemed to look like she had a crush on him or something._

"_Yeah, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, but sorry to burst your bubble uh, Masahiro," said Ichigo. "But I'm not in the mood to fight anyone right now."_

_Just before Ichigo could leave, one of Masahiro's friends, gang member or whatever decided to stand in front of him. He was a tall, round guy, his hair was pink but it was starting to fade out, showing his original dark colored hair._

"_You shouldn't talk to Masahiro like that ya punk," a skinny looking guy said who was standing behind Ichigo._

_Again, Ichigo let out a sigh. When will these people learn? He was trying to be nice here, for Kami's sake! What the hell did these people want anyways?_

"_Look, I don't know what you guys want with me but—"_

_Masahiro grabbed Ichigo's uniform collar and shoved him against the wall. "So I heard you're the perfect guy to pick a fight on," said Masahiro. "All those guys you beat up ever since your freshman year told me that you were unbeatable."_

"_Are you deaf? I said I wasn't in the mood for a fight," Ichigo mumbled._

_The girl behind Masahiro gasped, "He has such a bad attitude Hiro-kun! You should beat him up already!"_

_Ichigo looked around and started to feel uneasy knowing that this scene was starting to create an even bigger crowd. He didn't want this to happen. Why was it happening anyways? As long as he can remember, he hasn't done anything wrong as of today. He hasn't picked on anyone, he was just being quite, trying to avoid as much people as he possibly could but…_

_As much as he wanted to punch this guy right across the face and tell him to leave him alone, he didn't do anything. And doing nothing to Masahiro just made him even more upset._

"_What the fuck Kurosaki! Where's your game huh? I thought you fought for fun, just like I do!" Masahiro yelled._

_The crowd was getting bigger._

"_Like I said, I'm not in the mood for a fight," Ichigo said again and looked at Masahiro solemnly. This guy's annoying._

_Masahiro grit his teeth and was about to give a punch to Ichigo but something came up._

"_Um, ano…please don't mess with Kurosaki-kun. He doesn't like to harm people just for fun."_

_Masahiro and his gang looked at the girl who spoke._

_It was Orihime._

_Ichigo stared. What the hell was this girl trying to do? Get herself killed?_

_The girl who was with Masahiro's group was the one to speak, "What the fuck do you want you melon monster?! Can't you see we're busy—"_

_Just then, Masahiro released his grip on Ichigo, and started to walk away, "Let's go, we're just wasting our time."_

_The girl gave Masahiro an irritated look, "But Hiro-kun—"_

"_Reina," said Masahiro in a harsh tone. The girl—Reina—scoffed and followed Masahiro and his gang. As soon as they disappeared from Ichigo's sight, the crowd that was forming earlier seemed to disappear._

_Finally. Ichigo thought._

"_Ne, Kurosaki-kun, are you okay?" asked Orihime who walked closer to him._

_Ichigo gave a slight nod and fixed his collar, "What were you doing anyways?"_

"_Ehhh…well, I was on my way to the rooftop to eat lunch but then I saw this crowd and then I realized it was you," Orihime explained. "And you seemed to looked troubled by the way you were scowling at the ugly looking guy who was trying to provoke you into having a fight with him so…"_

_So you were trying to save me? Ichigo didn't like the thought of having to be saved by some girl he barely knew. He knew how to handle things like that and surely he could've gotten out of it himself if she hadn't showed up to help him. The thought of being saved by someone made him feel weak, and Ichigo hated that. But for some reason, he was surprised himself that he didn't get mad at her, like some part deep inside of him felt happy that she came to help him._

_This feeling was something Ichigo never felt before, he might have—but that was probably when he was still a child._

"_I see…thanks, Inoue," Ichigo told her._

_Orihime felt heat crawling up to her cheeks, she was glad that Ichigo was okay and she felt even better by the fact that he thanked her, "Y-you're welcome, Kurosaki-kun."_

_Say something, idiot. Awkwardness was starting to develop, and Ichigo didn't know what else to say._

"_So, I'll see you later, Kurosaki-kun!" said Orihime as she started to head the other direction._

_T-t-the party! Tell her you're going to go! "Uh, I-Inoue!" Ichigo called out._

_Orihime paused and turned around, "Y-yes?"_

"_The…uh, the party, you were telling me about," Ichigo started out. "I haven't told you my decision yet."_

"_Eh?" Orihime slightly tilted her head._

"_I guess…I'll be going…to your party," Ichigo mumbled._

_The confused expression that Orihime had earlier turned into an excited look as Ichigo told her that he will be attending the party. This was a huge step for Ichigo—he's never been to any parties that had a bunch of people that were the same age as him._

"_R-really?" a surprised Orihime asked. "You're really gonna go?"_

_Ichigo wanted to back out as soon as she asked if he was gonna go. But then again, he thought about his deal with his family. He would only go for their sake…and at least try to make some friends as his family wishes. To answer Orihime's question, he gave her a slight nod._

"_That's great! I'll go tell the others!" Orihime exclaimed and before Ichigo could react, she was already on her way to where her friends were._

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"So he'll be going to the party?" asked Tatsuki. Orihime nodded cheerfully.

"Then that's some party I'll be looking forward to," Renji commented.

"Be nice to him, Renji," Rukia warned. "If you hurt Orihime's boyfriend in any way I'll—"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Orihime interjected.

Rukia playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh please, you want him to be."

"Rukia-chaaaaannn!" Orihime whined.

"Alright," Tatsuki stood up from her sitting position. "Now that we have Kurosaki attending, what do you guys think we should do for the party?"

"Well, we gotta keep him entertained, that's for sure," said Rukia.

"How does he get entertained anyways? I've never even seen that guy smile or laugh," Renji mentioned.

"Talking to him will keep him entertained, just don't hover," Orihime told them.

"Okay, okay, why not just do what we normally do when we have parties? Talk, dance, eat and what not," Tatsuki suggested.

The three nodded in agreement. Everyone seemed to be fine about the fact that Ichigo would be there but to Orihime, she felt a little nervous. The reason was unexplainable, but it felt like she really needed to do a good job on this party so that she could make Ichigo realize that it's not bad to have friends; to help him realize that he just needs to be around the right people so that he doesn't have to have a hard time trying to fit in.

This was a mission that Orihime needed to work on, and this was just the beginning.

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**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait for an update. I was just waiting for some inspiration to kick in, and thank you for all the follows and favorites while I was gone. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please stay tuned for the next one! xx**


	4. Chapter 4

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Ichigo decided to ignore his alarm clock at first but he had no choice. Hitting the snooze button, he got up and stretched his arms.

Today was the day.

The day that he dreaded; the day he would have to face Orihime and all her other friends for the sake of his family. To his surprise, his family was really happy that he was finally going out during the weekend for once. Especially Yuzu, she was glad he was going out to have fun other than having to run errands for her. Karin was also glad...since she would have the television all to herself the whole day.

And their father was the same as always, teasing Ichigo on how he finally decided to have a social life and that he also should get a girlfriend while he's at it. Isshin favored to have Orihime as his daughter-in-law and that they should give him some grandchildren as soon as possible.

Ichigo, who was getting annoyed by the fact that his own father was talking nonsense, decided to shut him up by giving him a good whiff across the face with his fist. _That'll teach him._ Ichigo thought to himself.

After finishing his long shower, he decided an outfit that would be suitable for the event. Orihime said that it would be a semi-formal event so he pulled out a plain blue long sleeve button down shirt, a pair of dark skinny jeans and a pair of Chuck Taylors to complete his "semi-formal" outfit.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he seemed to be satisfied and hoping that everyone who will be at the party won't judge him. Fixing his hair and letting his spikes settle, he grabbed his belongings and headed towards the door.

"Now, don't come home too late," his father said just before Ichigo reached for the door handle. Ichigo turned to face him, "I won't, dad."

Isshin grinned, "Alright, have fun." Ichigo gave his father a slight nod and made his way to Orihime's house.

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The weather was nice, clear blue skies with the sun shining brightly. The backyard of the Ichimaru residence had tables of drinks from earl grey tea to sake and various types of finger food from cheese bites to crab cakes. There was a big birthday cake standing alone at the end of the long table with the finger food that had 'Happy Birthday Rangiku!' written at the top of the three-tier cake.

The guests were starting to arrive and fill up the backyard and Orihime was starting to search for a typical orange-haired male.

"He's not here yet?" a voice asked.

Orihime turned around to see her adopted mother, her hair was put up in a half-up-do, letting her strawberry blonde locks flow freely while the top half was put in place. She wore a lavender colored Sunday-dress that stopped just above her knees with straps and a sweetheart neckline, giving a good glimpse of her cleavage. Orihime had to admit that her mother was the most stunning person she had ever seen in her life, and it amazed her that her mother can still look beautiful without having the effort to. She was a bit taller thanks to the silver heels that she wore.

"No, he's not here yet," said Orihime.

"Well, I hope he didn't get lost on his way here then," Rangiku smiled, "I'll be over there chatting with some friends. Introduce me to him when he gets here, okay?"

"I-I will okaa-san." Orihime watched her mother approach a few females, _I hope Kurosaki-kun gets here safely…_

"Is everything alright Orihime?" Rukia asked as she walked up to her. "You look kinda worried."

"Oh, um, everything is fine Rukia-chan…it's just,"

"Just what?"

"Can you do something for me?"

Rukia eyed the auburn haired girl. Sure, she always did anything anyone asked her to, but this was the first time she asked for a favor, which easily made Rukia accept whatever she wanted her to do, "Sure, what is it?"

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Renji yawned this wasn't the way he was expecting things to be today. Here he was, waiting outside with his girlfriend when he should be in the backyard eating crab cakes.

"Remind me again why we're out here?"

Rukia gave her boyfriend a look, this was probably the 5th time she had to tell him why they're waiting outside. Geez, Renji could be an ass sometimes, "We're doing what Orihime asked us to do."

He groaned, "But why do I have to be here? Clearly she asked _you_ to do it, not me—guh!"

"If you don't want to be with me then go inside and eat your stupid crab cakes you jerk! Clearly you treat all your stupid food as your girlfriend and not me!" she exclaimed.

Renji stared at the girl who was now facing away from him, her face was flushed and her breathing was a bit faster than normal. _Oh shit._ He picked up the shoe that was thrown at him and approached her, "Rukia, you know I love you more than crab cakes or any other food."

Rukia ignored him and tried to find something else to focus on. "Come on, I didn't mean to make you angry," he pleaded.

Again, she ignored him. "Please forgive me," he paused, "If it makes you happy, I'll do your calligraphy for a month."

Rukia thought for a moment. She was never good at calligraphy. Ever. Her older brother would scold her for having such bad skills when he would ask her to write something for him. And her grades would become lower by a few points when they would have to do calligraphy related things during school. Making her decision, she turned to Renji who couldn't help but smirk, "So do you forgive me now?"

She rolled her eyes at this, "I can't stay mad at you that long anyways."

Before pulling her closer for a kiss, there was a sound of someone clearing their throat. Two pairs of eyes looked up to see the person they have been waiting for.

"Uh…sorry to interrupt you, but is this Orihime Inoue's house?"

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Ichigo took a sip of his punch as he stood by the crab cakes where Renji and Sado stood. Well, Renji was practically inhaling all of the crab cakes and would get a few slaps on the hand whenever Rukia would come over to talk to them.

Things were going pretty great for Ichigo—pretty hard to believe for him. When he was first escorted by Rukia and Renji, they took him to Orihime right away. Of course, she was happy as she would always be. Then she introduced him to her mother, and boy, did they look alike. Rangiku-san told Ichigo that she liked him already and that she is hoping to have him as a son-in-law one day, this made Orihime blush and Ichigo couldn't take the hint.

"These crab cakes are really good, you know?" said Renji as he took another mouthful.

"Renji," Sado began, "Don't eat too much or else you'll end up like last year."

"What happened last year?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask.

"He ate too many club houses and he ended up in the hospital for a day due to really bad stomach ache," Sado explained.

Renji completely ignored the two and continued to devour whatever he could lay his hands on. And the caterers who were standing behind the table gave him irritated looks as they watched him attack the food one by one.

"This guy sure has a big appetite," one whispered.

"Tell me about it."

"I hope Rangiku-san won't be mad about the bill."

"She'll probably know the reason behind it since she doesn't seem to mind him eating all the food."

Ichigo decided to ignore the caterers who commented about Renji's eating habit and watched as the party went on. It felt weird to him that he was able to feel at ease when this was his first ever party invitation. It was like this was a normal thing for him, like he's capable of doing it again anytime soon. This morning, he felt like backing out and not going, he could think of many possible excuses as to why he did not show up. But now, things are different, like he was actually enjoying this. He hadn't felt this way in such a long time though since he's never had friends, and it felt pretty good for him.

Pulling himself away from his thoughts, Sado spoke, "Hey, we should go over there. They're going to sing happy birthday."

"Oh, alright," Ichigo looked behind him to see that Renji was gone. _Where did he go now?_

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"Ne, thanks for coming Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said as she walked him outside.

"Ah, yeah. Thanks for inviting me."

"Did you have a good time?" she asked.

Ichigo nodded, "Surprisingly yes. Thank you…again."

Orihime smiled, "I'm glad."

"So uh, I'll see you in school," Ichigo was starting to walk away now, he gave the auburn haired girl a small smile, "Thanks Inoue."

"B-bye!" Orihime watched him walked down the street. That was the first time she ever saw Ichigo smile, and she hoped to see that small smile again. Today was a successful day for Orihime, she managed to get Ichigo to talk to Sado and Renji even though he was admitted to the hospital shortly after they sang to Rangiku.

As for Ichigo, he seemed happy. He may have forgotten what it was like to have friends but it was great to finally make some. Meeting Rukia, Renji and Sado was a great thing, and he's looking forward to seeing them around during school. Everything that has happened today was all thanks to Orihime.

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Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter so far. I was thinking of putting up another one but I always end up losing my writing mood after I finish a chapter or something. Gah, I hate it when I'm like that. But if it ever comes back, I will continue to write the next chapter and post it soon. (:

Anyways, I hope this story doesn't become like More Than Alive because I haven't updated that story for a couple of months now. I have a bad writer's block for that story and I can't get out of it. I'm hoping to finish that story sometimes this year though.

And please, please review! Because that's what keeps me pumped and all. I love reviews. :D


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